


your presence is present enough

by withoutwords



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Fluff, Gift Giving, Humour, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, bottom!Robert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 08:56:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19147741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withoutwords/pseuds/withoutwords
Summary: Now, on top of all that, he’s lost his watch. The watch Aaron kept when he was missing Robert. The watch he had engraved when they got back together. The watch he gave to Robert on their wedding day - words caught in this throat and heart on his sleeve and knocking Robert flat on his back.It was symbolic, or something. Time and time again, they’d find their way back to each other.





	your presence is present enough

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for mowow who sent me this fic prompt on tumblr:
> 
> "robert goes away on business and somehow loses the watch (takes it off for a shower, is distracted by a call while getting dressed and forgets to put it back on). he either finds it again after weeks of looking for it/discovering somebody pawned it or something, or he never does and has to replace it by doing something extra 'sentimental' for aaron.”

Robert upends his travel bag on the bed and swears.

It’s not here.

He knew he shouldn't have gone on the stupid trip. He hadn’t had to go away for months - and a week away from home, alone, to talk to a bunch of French prats about haulage just felt futile. They were sos far into the pregnancy now, and Aaron had been getting so crazy with the fussing and the worrying and the nesting. Robert felt guilty leaving them.

Now, on top of all that, he’s lost his watch. The watch Aaron kept when he was missing Robert. The watch he had engraved when they got back together. The watch he gave to Robert on their wedding day - words caught in this throat and heart on his sleeve and knocking Robert flat on his back.

It was symbolic, or something. Time and time again, they’d find their way back to each other.

“What’re you doing?” Aaron asks, coming into the room and seeing all the mess Robert’s made.

“Oh, uh, I couldn’t find my toothbrush.”

“That one right there?”

“Yeah, shit, sorry. Just tired.” Robert snatches up his toothbrush and gives Aaron a hasty kiss on the cheek. “I’m gonna jump in the shower.”

*

Robert spends day after day calling around.

From the hotel to the taxi firm to the many, many businesses and representatives he’d met with over the week. He tried the airport, and the cafes he’d bought coffee or food in - no one had seen his watch. Nothing had been handed in.

The worst part is that Robert can’t remember the last time he had it on. Did he take it off to shower? Did he take it off to go through any metal detectors - at the airport, at the seminars? He doesn’t know. The thing was like a second skin to him; he might as well try to remember the last time he scratched his nose.

“Just tell Aaron the truth,” Victoria insists, because she’s doe-eyed and naive and really young about these things. “The two of ya can pick a new watch together or somethin’”

“That’s not the point! He’ll be crushed. He put so much thought into it and I just …”

Victoria pulls her usual pitying face and gives Robert’s arm a rub. “It was a mistake. Totally innocent. He’ll understand.”

“Yeah, he will, but…” Robert’s not sure how to explain it. Aaron’s been let down his whole life - by his parents, his friends, by Robert. He wanted to break that cycle. He’d been trying so hard to break it. “I just don’t want him to be sad.”

He never wanted to be the reason Aaron was sad. Not again.

*

 

After almost two weeks of losing sleep, Robert decides to give up.

Short of going back to Paris and scouring every place he went, or retracing every step he took - he’s done all he can. The watch is gone. Sure, Aaron’s will forgive him eventually. Okay, its hardly the biggest hurdle their relationship has ever faced. It barely blips on the radar. But for some reason, it hits Robert hard.

He has to do something to make up for it.

“Could you suggest a nice, classy gift for a man?” he asks a sales assistant at the jeweler. She smiles knowingly.

“Have you considered a watch, sir?

“Uh, yeah, no - no I’m avoiding watches.”

“Okay, well.” She moves across the assortment of items and stops by the far end. “We have rings. Cufflinks. Some men like chains, or earrings?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Tie clips, lighters, we don’t really sell them here but flasks and decanters are often popular too?”

Robert wipes at his face, frustrated. Nothing’s really popping out at him. Aaron doesn’t need any of those things, and Rober’s willing to bet he wouldn’t want them. He’s sentimental, sure, but not wasteful.

“The only other thing I might suggest are these [leather and silver friendship bracelets](https://www.monicavinader.com/havana-mens-friendship-bracelet/havana-mens-friendship-bracelet-black)?” The attendant says, opening up the cabinet to remove small tray that was sitting low in the shelves. They’re threaded, and simple, and not dissimilar to other things Aaron’s worn in the past. “Very good quality, made for everyday use.”

“Friendship bracelets?”

“I’m sure they’re not exclusively for friends, sir,” she assures him with a smirk. Robert huffs.

Despite the fact he associates the term friendship bracelet with twelve year olds, they’re really nice. The thought of it on Aaron’s wrist - emboldened with words that Robert’s put there.

Yeah. He likes that idea.

“Do you do engravings?”

*

Robert’s got his legs twisted so tight around Aaron it aches.

His hips are arched, the pillow at his back pulling with friction - and Aaron’s fucking into him with everything he’s got. It hurts, and it feels so good, and listening to Aaron grunt and pant and mutter dirty things at him is almost enough to get him over the edge.

But Aaron grabs his poor, weeping cock anyway, and matches with his thrusts, and all Robert can do as they come one after the other is scratch at Aaron’s taut skin and yell out to the ceiling. They’re alone. They can be as loud as they like.

“Got that out of ya system then?” Robert teases as they’re settling down, yanking the pillow out and throwing it aside.

“Shutup,”Aaron whines, slapping his shoulder. “You’re okay, yeah?

“Seriously?”” Robert looks over to Aaron, who’s peering at him with care. “I’m better than okay.”

“That’s good.”

Aaron leans over to give him a slow, teasing kiss, lapping his tongue at Robert’s lips before pulling away to get up. Robert watches him for a moment, as he fluffs about finding clothes, then finally decides to do it.

“Can you get back here for a minute?”

“What?

Robert sits up, rifling through his top drawer to find the bracelets. “Can you sit? Please?”

“Uh. Sure.”

Aaron sits, still half off the bed, so that Robert has to scoot closer. The sales lady had put them in her nicest boxes, would have wrapped them as well if Robert hadn’t dissuaded her.

“When I was in France, I lost my watch,” Robert tells Aaron, not brave enough to meet his eye. “I called around everywhere, I had my friend, Gerard, look around for me - I don’t know what happened to it. It’s gone.”

“Robert - ”

“And I’m so, so sorry, Aaron, I know that you’re probably so angry with me and you have every right to be, but I … I wanted to do something else nice for ya. For us. And - ”

“Robert,” Aaron says, now putting his hand on Robert’s wrist and stopping him from getting the bracelet out. Rober finally looks at him and is so relieved to see him smiling. “I know you lost your watch. I figured it out ages ago.”

“You did? How?”

“Uh, when I asked you what the time was and it took you five minutes to find your phone and tell me.”

“Right,”Robert drops his head in embarrassment, but Aaron lifts it back up with a gentle hand on his chin.

“It’s okay. You didn’t mean to.”

“I didn’t. I don’t know how - it was stupid. So stupid. So I … I decided to get these. This. For both of us.”

Aaron gives him a suspicious look which is quickly replaced with excitement. Like a little kid on Christmas morning - Aaron’s always loved surprises, as much as he pretends not to. Robert watches him unravel one so nervously, watches Aaron’s expression change from excitement, to wonder, to amazement.

“Wow.”

“One for both of us.” Robert says, getting out the other and letting Aaron hold them together. “See what I had engraved? You get it?”

Aaron kisses him again, hands at this neck and pulling at his hair and maybe saying the millions things he can’t think of right now. He doesn’t need to.

“I do. They’re beautiful. I love them.”

“I love you.”

*

Aaron buys Robert a new watch, all with it’s old engravings. When it’s finally on Robert’s wrist he feels, in a weird way, whole again.

He wears that, his bracelet and ring, with nothing else - and Aaron makes love to him in their bed, in their room, in their house. 

They’re a picture made up of all these little things - gifts and people and moments and words. 

(Words, like the ones Robert had etched into their bracelets.

On one, _you know_.

On the other, _I know_.)

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr.](http://thefancyspin.tumblr.com)


End file.
